Westmeath footballers must bounce back as hurlers host Down

Gerry Buckley

There were mixed fortunes for Westmeath’s flagship teams last Sunday, as the hurlers comfortably got back to winning ways in Meath, while the footballers lost narrowly in Louth, and both teams are back in again in just a matter of days.

Division 3 in football is proving to be a real dogfight and as many as six of the eight teams can still harbour hopes of promotion to the second tier.

Despite the heroics of John Heslin in Ardee – what a source of joy and pride it is to see the St Loman’s, Mullingar man close to his very best, and even the Louth media were ecstatic about his last point in the first half – Jack Cooney’s troops suffered what was an undoubted setback by dropping both points to Mickey Harte’s charges.

However, there is no time for heads to drop as Longford make the short trip to TEG Cusack Park on Saturday for a re-fixed game, the original fixture having lost out to the stormy weather last Sunday week.

Billy O’Loughlin’s men have made a disappointing start to the league and have just one point from a possible six on the board, leaving them joint-bottom of the pile with Wicklow.

That will count for nothing at 2pm in Mullingar on Saturday as the sight of their neighbours’ maroon and white jerseys invariably brings out an extra gear in those wearing blue and gold.

Having said – and meant – all of that, it would be a disaster for the home team to drop any points against Longford. The corollary is that a win by four points or more would propel Cooney’s charges back to the top of the table ahead of surprise packets Limerick.

Of course, any win will do, but to use the new buzz word in ‘manager-speak’, the ‘learnings’ from the two-point loss to the men in white and red must be brought into Saturday’s performance.

Westmeath never managed to really take control of proceedings in Páirc Mhuire, despite the tonic of Heslin’s fortuitous goal. Louth clearly sensed an opportunity to re-enter the promotion race after an eye-catching win in Limerick and they probably marginally deserved to win.

However, what would have been an invaluable away point was squandered with some poor decision-making in the final minutes, and not by inexperienced players. In this regard, it was great to see one of the county’s brightest prospects in years, Senan Baker, making his debut as a teenager – a rarity in the modern game.

Conversely, it would be a huge boost down the line to see wise old heads like Ger Egan and James Dolan return to the fold. Dublin’s latest defeat (losing to Kildare last Sunday) suggests that a genuine crack at the Delaney Cup is a distinct possibility for a few teams. And that ‘few’ undoubtedly includes Westmeath if firing on all cylinders.

The championship match against Longford, also in TEG Cusack Park, is for another day. For now, the focus is entirely on the league clash. And it is unquestionably in the ‘must-win’ bracket. A defeat is unthinkable.

The few handfuls of Westmeath hurling supporters in Carlow a little over a fortnight ago were absolutely gutted with the poverty of the visitors’ display. Thankfully, reports from the visit to the Royal County last Sunday suggest that Joe Fortune’s troops were a different proposition in what their third round robin game, and a decisive 4-23 to 1-15 victory puts them top of the Division 2A table on scoring difference ahead of Kerry and Down.

The pattern of results in this division to date has been somewhat topsy-turvy, with the Barrowsiders having lost to the other two joint-table toppers, despite comfortably disposing of what was a very weak Westmeath challenge in Netwatch Cullen Park last month. And no results before or since can hide that the men in maroon and white were awful that day.

Hopefully, the fervent wish expressed by this lifelong Westmeath fanatic in this paper that the performance in Carlow would turn out to be a “one-off aberration” may prove to be the case. Accordingly, the visit of Down to TEG Cusack Park on Sunday (throw-in 2pm) will be another barometer of where Westmeath hurling stands just now.

Westmeath and Down have been regular league opponents. They have clashed 24 times, with the Lake County winning 14 of these, the Mourne men seven, while three games were drawn.

Westmeath v Down - last NHL meeting

A decade on from the last meeting, Westmeath still have four links to the team which won in Páirc Esler (see below). Nothing less than a win next Sunday will satisfy the loyal home fans in Mullingar.

Westmeath: S McGovern; P Fennell, A Price, C Jordan; P Gilsenan, J Gilligan, P Dowdall; E Price (1-4), J Clarke (0-1); B Murtagh (0-5), A Clarke (0-1), D McCormack (0-1); A Dermody (0-2), D Carty (1-4), J Shaw (0-2). Subs: D Fennell for A Price, P Maloney for McGovern, N O’Brien (1-0) for Dowdall, R Greville (0-1) for Dermody, E Óg Clarke for P Fennell.

Down: S Keith; M Hughes, S Ennis, J Smyth; F Conway (0-1), C Woods, M Ennis (0-1); E Clarke (0-1), A Savage; P Sheehan, D Hughes (0-1), C Bailie (0-2); D Toner (1-0), P Braniff (0-13), P Keith. Subs: C Mageean (1-1) for P Keith, A O’Prey for Savage.